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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

دوشیزگان by Alex Michaelides

379 reviews

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

It’s been so long since I’ve read a thriller so this was a little jarring. I’d actually say that it was more unsettling than thrilling, but still enjoyable nonetheless. The book really picks up when you get to the second part and continuously amps up the crazy. Unfortunately I did guess the killer around 150 pages BUT it was still a crazy reveal because there was a lot more context (even though the motive was a bit weird).

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dark sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

As far as thrillers go, this was quite a fun and well done one. It was in no way groundbreaking, but I did enjoy it as a pallet cleaner. 

I really enjoyed the Greek mythological elements of this as well as the dark academia setting, both of which added some extra depth to this tale. The twist was a little goofy but overall unexpected and fun, although I do think the author could have used secondary characters a bit more to add suspense.

Overall, it was fine; largely well-executed, engaging if not life-changing prose, and a reasonably entertaining plot. I’d recommend it for thriller beginners like me - more avid fans on the genre may be a little bored by it. 

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book kept me interested the whole time! I felt like I was constantly guessing who was the killer in the end and I like that I couldn't predict the ending. I was completely caught off guard by the motive at the end of the book, not necessarily the actual identity of the murderer. I wish that the other male characters of the book were fleshed out a little bit more. For instance, Fred had very strange behavior and I still don't know if he's just in love or a love-bomber. Also it seemed to me like it was never confirmed who in fact was stalking Mariana, because I'm still not sure if it was Henry or Fred lol. 

I wish that Sebastian's thought process was narrated from his POV more of why he chose Mariana. Maybe that's a good opening for a prequel or novella for this book.

This was my first time reading a book from this author, and I'll definitely want to read more from him!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I've still got to make peace with the ending, and what I see as loose ends. But I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about the ending. 

Oh--I wanted to note the author's idiosyncratic use of the m-dash. It was used many places I'd expect a comma, and really broke up the flow of the reading for me at first. It got easier with time. Maybe it's a UK thing? (I grew up in the US and moved to Mexico in my 40s--I know Mexico uses punctuation much differently, so perhaps that's the case with this unusual m-dash usage.) 

I'm working to re-establish a daily reading habit, and I was certainly invested in this story! I had a million theories I thought were sooo smart. Pleased to be incorrect about all of them. 

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